Esoteric Shinto

Shinto or Shintoism is often regarded as the original religion of Japan. It's centered on the veneration of spirits known as Kami, who manifest themselves in various natural objects. From the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the defeat of Japan in World War II, Shinto was the prescribed state cult and often came into conflict with other religious traditions. This seems to have been an anomalous state of affairs, however, since Shintoism has usually co-existed peacefully with Buddhism, the other great religion in the land of the rising sun. Many Japanese practice both. Many Japanese also belong to so-called New Religions, many of which are syncretistic in character.

“The Essence of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart” is a book by Motohisa Yamakage, a spiritual teacher who claims to be the 79th Grand Master of an orthodox Koshinto lineage going back to ancient times. However, it seems that Koshinto (“Ancient Shinto”) isn't older than the Edo period (1603-1868), and Yamakage's group is apparently regarded as a New Religion. The group claims to have access to esoteric teachings previously unknown to anyone but a few initiates. Thus, Yamakage's book should be read, not as a general introduction to Shintoism, but rather as a introduction to the author's own spiritual worldview, which may or may not resemble how Shinto is actually practiced.

Yamakage believes that the goal of humans is to become Kami. In Western terms, humans are called upon to become “spirits”, “angels” or “gods”. There are several steps in this process. The most elementary is to strive for balance and purity in one's own personal life, something done through ethics, aesthetics and various rituals of purification. The latter is especially important when interacting with the Kami. There is a tension in the book between seeing Nature as holy since the world is a manifestation of the divine (apparently a kind of pantheist world-soul), and seeing the physical world as contaminated with impurities which must be removed before the Kami can descend to our plane of existence. A good portion of the book deals with these more “exoteric” practices, including the setting up of home altars, ritual baths, and so on.

The more esoteric practices involve meditation and chanting. They eventually give the practitioner access to the spiritual world. He can see a great light, have out-of-body experiences and become possessed by a Kami. We are also informed that there are many hierarchical levels in the spirit-world, and that our path to perfection continues after our physical death. Yamakage also reveals that humans have four different souls, and discusses their fates after the death of the physical individual.

“The Essence of Shinto” is clearly veered to a Western audience, with references to the Gaia hypothesis, Blavatsky and Steiner. Yamakage claims that Shinto has no founder, no doctrines, no idols and no conception of sin, presumably desirable traits in the New Age milieu. He is also at pains to portray Shinto as in some sense monotheistic, since all Kami are ultimately one, and therefore really aspects of a single deity. This, of course, is a desirable trait among Christians. Personally, I suspect that a forthrightly pagan polytheism would work just as well even in the West these days. The author also emphasizes the need for faith and the desirability of direct spiritual experiences.

I admit that I didn't find Motohisa Yamakage particularly interesting, but it's possible that I was brought into disharmony by the small print! I will nevertheless give the book three stars.